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File photos of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. (PTI)

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Saffron Srinagar: Preparations to form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir are in full swing. Top sources in the Prime Minister’s Office told News18 that former J&K deputy chief minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nirmal Singh held a closed-door meeting with Narendra Modi at his office in New Delhi on Wednesday, fuelling speculation that the next BJP-led government could assume power in the state within a month.

Patthargarhis mobilize: Adivasis behind Patthargarhi movement are now busy creating their own, parallel government, their own bank and their private police force. State intelligence sources also hint at an increasing involvement of Maoists in the Patthargarhi movement. According to sources in the state's police department, the adivasi-led gram sabhas are issuing identification documents, levying toll on non-adivasi visitors, raising a police force and issuing credit from the 'Bank of Gram Sabha'. Read News18’s special report.

Pathetic apathy: Three persons, who met with an accident in Rajasthan, died after writhing in pain for nearly thirty minutes even as a group of onlookers clicked selfies and made videos with no one coming forward to the help of the injured. The shocking example of public apathy was witnessed on Monday in the Chohtan area when the motorcycle of the three friends, who were of the age group between 25-30 years, was hit by a school bus.

Fulfilling promises: The Bihar Cabinet chaired by chief minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday gave its nod to softening or removing some of the most stringent provisions of the tough prohibition law in the state as the government looked to address concerns that officials were abusing the 2016 Act. The series of changes approved by the cabinet include making consumption of liquor a non-bailable offence and doing away with mandatory jail times for first-time offenders, in effect extensively diluting the tough law that was a key poll promise of the Janata Dal (United).

Banished seer: After externing film critic Mahesh Katti from Hyderabad for derogatory remarks on Lord Rama, the Hyderabad police have taken similar action against Swami Paripoornanda, by banning his entry into the city for next six months. The police served the externment order to Swami Paripoornanda under Prevention of Anti-Social and Hazardous Activities Act and escorted him out of the city. The Hindu seer had planned a yatra to protest against Mahesh's remarks but police denied permission citing law and order issues. He was earlier put under house arrest.

Rubbishing claims: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Wednesday refuted reports that it was planning to organise several programmes as part of the Ramayana month. “The RSS and Sangh Parivar are misusing Ramayana month to spread communal propaganda for political gains. Sanskrit Sangh (a Left organisation) is spreading awareness programmes throughout Kerala to expose them,” CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said.

Killer landslides: At least seven persons were killed in landslides at three places in the hill district of Tamenglong in Manipur in the wee hours on Wednesday.

Banking votes: Ignoring objection by Opposition and slamming by own alliance partners, many Bharatiya Janata Party lawmakers in Bihar and Jharkhand recently reached out to riot and lynching accused in what is considered to be a concerted political effort in the run-up to 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, in a U-turn from his earlier stand of honouring the due process of law, Union minister Jayant Sinha later expressed “regret” over his act of garlanding Jharkhand lynching convicts. The minister courted controversy last week after photographs of him garlanding the convicts at his residence in Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) surfaced in the public domain.

Secret agenda: From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Congress President Rahul Gandhi, political strategist Prashant Kishor has worked with leaders from across the political spectrum. With less than a year left for 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Kishor has kept everyone guessing as to which campaign his Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) will work with next year. Meanwhile, I-PAC has launched a campaign to ascertain a new ‘National Agenda’ on the lines of ‘Swaraj’ before Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary. I-PAC will hold an online poll asking users to vote for the “best suited” leader.

Face-off: In a bid to address the curiosity surrounding Congress’ face for the upcoming assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh later this year, MPCC chief Kamal Nath has said that disgruntled farmers, unemployed youth and insecure women would be party’s face against CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In an exclusive chat with News18, the senior Congress leader said that the Congress was not fighting the image of Shivraj but the BJP as a whole.

Name game: Cabinet Minister and Spokesperson of the Yogi Adityanath government Sidharth Nath Singh has written to Governor Ram Naik to consider changing the name of Allahabad to Prayag. As per the sources, the name of Allahabad may be changed this year itself as the city will be hosting Kumbh next year.

MLA named: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday named BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar as an accused in the chargesheet filed in the Unnao rape case. In its initial chargesheet on Saturday, the agency had also named the MLA’s brother and four others in connection with the killing of a man whose daughter was allegedly raped by the lawmaker.

News18 analysis: A senior Congress manager got a call from a journalist a couple of days ahead of the trust vote to enquire if Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) with its three MPs was firmly with the UPA. While the trusted Gandhi family loyalist listed reasons behind Ajit Singh joining the flock, the RLD leader was already on his way to meet Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati at latter’s Humayun Road bungalow promising to vote against the confidence motion. The Assembly debacle of 2017 has made Mayawati seek partnerships outside her citadel in UP. Hers is the only party after the BJP and the Congress which has a truly national footprint. News18 analyses the political strategies of the BSP chief.

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To cope with the current workforce needs and culture, employers are seeking employees who are skilled in Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Big Data. This is a skill set that most Indian colleges and universities do not include in their curriculum. Read Amit Goyal’s take on the state of AI education in India.

On reel

An Indian doctor operates in the Gaza strip, where firing by Israeli forces is a common occurrence. Working as a part of the Red Cross team, he treats innumerable patients as this is the only emergency service available in the area. Watch the video to know more about him.